"Juliet E. McKenna - Einarinn 5 - The Assassin's Edge" - читать интересную книгу автора (McKenna Juliet E)

damage done around the city. Broken windows, doors and wine bottles may
be redeemed with gold. A reputation once tarnished may never recover its
lustre.
To obviate any recurrence of such offences, the Prefecture offers the
following for the immediate consideration of mentors and scholars and the
judicious guidance of students.
Denying Temar D'Alsennin is who he claims to be is as irrational as
refusing to accept the accounts of that restoration of him and his people
through the offices of Archmage Planir of Hadrumal. It is equally
nonsensical to claim this is all falsehood in service of some all encompassing
yet curiously ill-defined conspiracy involving the Archmage, the Mentors of
Vanam and even Emperor Tadriol himself Such foolishness does this
university's standing immeasurable harm.
However, and notwithstanding the overweening arrogance of certain
scholars of Vanam, the return of Temar D'Alsennin to Tormalin will not
answer one hundredth of the questions as to why the Old Empire collapsed.
He cannot tell us why the dethronement of Nemith the Reckless and Last
precipitated the Chaos rather than orderly transition to a new Emperor and
dynasty. D'Alsennin's attempt to found his colony has no bearing on any of
these events. It was a minor undertaking compared to other ventures the Old
Empire was then engaged upon, most notably the ultimately fruitless
conquest of Gidesta. That this colony was of little or no consequence to the
Convocation of Princes is plain. Rather than divert resources to helping
D'Alsennin, the Annals record every House turning its efforts to quelling
secessionist revolts in Caladhria and opportunist uprisings in Ensaimin.
D'Alsennin can offer only a limited account from a very partial
perspective as a young and untried esquire of a minor House long distanced
from the councils of the powerful. He had already crossed the ocean to Kel
Ar'Ayen before the final, crucial years of Nemith's reign and had long been
rendered insensible by enchantment before the most violent period of warfare
between the Houses of Aleonne and Modrical. While his reminiscences may
offer some interesting sidelights on those momentous events, they are
insignificant in the wider context of the established historical record.
Granted, it seems likely that the as yet only partially explained
deterioration in the usages of aetheric magic contributed to the collapse of
the Empire. Judging the impact of such a blow, set alongside the attested
assaults of famine, civil strife and the recurrent devastation of the Crusted
Pox will certainly be a fruitful area for study. Similarly, a full assessment of
the role of this aetheric magic in the governance of the Old Empire must now
be made. We of Col should not be laggard in undertaking such enquiries. We
need not concern ourselves with boasts from Vanam that their mentors' links
with Planir's expeditions to Kel Ar'Ayen give their scholars unassailable
superiority tn such studies.
Col is the main port through which travellers to and from Hadrumal pass.
We should set aside our habitual reserve in dealing with wizardry and invite
mages to refresh themselves in our halls and join in our debates. We may
usefully encourage our alchemists to correspond with those wizards studying
the properties of the natural elements. This university was founded by those
scholars who salvaged all they could from the burning of this city's ancient
temple library during the Chaos. It is now evident that such temples were